The Resignation Plan
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re fired.”
The banquet hall fell into an instant, suffocating silence. The moment the family members knelt in unison, the ground trembled violently. The master of the largest hunter family in South Korea. The head of the Shin Clan and one of only thirteen S+ class hunters in the world, known as [The Dignified Patriarch]. He was walking straight toward me.
“Child. Can you take responsibility for those words?”
I never expected the Patriarch to take an interest in me. Given how much he valued dignity, he would surely view a non-awakened person like me as less than a bug. Yet, to my utter shock, the Patriarch had walked right up to where I stood to address me. My skin crawled, and cold sweat broke out at the sound of his voice, which was heavy with immense magical power.
“If you carry the blood of this family, you must not speak words you cannot back up. Answer me.”
Had he actually overheard my conversation with Shin Chi-hyun? The senses of an S+ class Patriarch transcended even those of an S-class hunter. Naturally, he would be able to discern our conversation even from far away. But hearing it and taking an interest were two different things. Out of all the conversations happening in this room, he had focused on the words of a non-awakened nobody like me. My knees went weak.
‘...Wait. Isn’t this an opportunity?’
On second thought, it wasn’t just a crisis. Was I going to provoke the Patriarch? Of course not. ‘The Patriarch called me a child.’ The term “child” used by the Patriarch was an expression he used for the younger members of the family. In other words, he lumped everyone in the family who hadn’t awakened yet into the category of “children.” Once they awakened and proved their worth, they were treated as useful pawns. But if they disgraced the family or were deemed worthless, they were exiled entirely. In any case, the fact that he called me a child meant he at least considered me a member of the family. Perhaps he was testing me.
There was no way to know why the Patriarch had taken an interest in me. But if I played this right, I might be able to secure a high-speed resignation. I took a deep breath, steadied my nerves, and opened my mouth. My jaw trembled just from the effort of speaking.
“I am serious. Excluding the fact that he is an awakened, I am superior to Shin Chi-hyun.”
—!
The air in the banquet hall froze in astonishment. It was exactly the reaction I wanted. The Patriarch constantly tested the members of his family to see if they were worth using as pawns. Shin Chi-hyun wasn’t particularly helpful to the family in terms of raw combat power, but he had proven his necessity by holding a key position in the Association. Only by proving one’s necessity to the family could one truly be called a member of the clan. Anyone else was beneath the Patriarch’s notice. The words I had just uttered were a direct challenge to that very test.
I don’t know why, but the Patriarch had given me an opening, and I intended to ruin it spectacularly. If I did, I would be completely exiled from the family. And Shin Chi-hyun firing me from the Association would naturally follow. ‘Hehehe... Then I’ll finally be a completely free man.’
Usually, people don’t pull such crazy stunts. In South Korea, there was almost nowhere the family’s influence couldn’t reach. Once exiled, it might be hard to find even a menial job, let alone stay on as an Association employee. But so what? I was going to America. South Korea was going to collapse anyway, and the family would go down with it. You guys can play “noble family” all you want in this dying land.
“...Ho-ho.”
A very faint sound of the Patriarch snorting reached my ears. That tiny puff of air was enough to make my entire body tremble.
“Then prove it.”
With that, the Patriarch turned and walked away. He ascended the podium to give his congratulatory speech, and the banquet resumed.
“Hey! Are you insane? What the hell did you just do in front of the Patriarch!”
As soon as I could move again, my younger sister rushed over in a panic. She pounded on my back, furious. Behind her stood our two uncles.
“Greetings, Uncles.”
“Chi-hyun, it’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“Are you really letting yourself be looked down upon by a non-awakened now?”
Shin Jin-seok, the guild leader of the Ilseong Group, and the master craftsman Shin Chi-soo. Even in this situation, Shin Chi-hyun greeted the two uncles with the utmost respect.
“Jiwoo, it’s been a while.”
“Hello, Uncle Chi-soo.”
I bowed to Shin Chi-soo. Although he was direct family, my relationship with him wasn’t particularly bad. Since he didn’t do much field work, we didn’t see each other often, but he was one of the few people in the family who didn’t look down on me.
“Did you lose your mind because you did one good job at the Association?”
On the other hand, Shin Jin-seok poked my forehead with his finger as he spoke. The force was so strong that I fell backward onto the floor.
“...I only said what was true. Honestly, Chi-hyun hyung isn’t even that strong within the family.”
“I heard people change, but... Chi-hyun, are you just going to stand there while being ignored like this? If it were me, I’d just—!”
“...I can’t exactly strike a non-awakened, can I?”
“Yeah, well, if you get fired from the Association, where else would you have to go? You’d better do a good job.”
Thwack— Thwack— Shin Jin-seok patted Shin Chi-hyun’s back hard. Shin Chi-hyun’s expression didn’t look good either. It wasn’t just me; Shin Jin-seok had been subtly looking down on Shin Chi-hyun the whole time. Shin Jin-seok was fundamentally a man of poor character. This is why I don’t like the hunters of the Ilseong Group.
“...So. What are you going to do? Since the Patriarch said that, you have to show something. Or are you really going to die?”
“I won’t die. Would the Patriarch do something so undignified?”
“That may be, but you won’t be able to step foot on Korean soil for the rest of your life...”
I just shrugged at my sister’s words. That was exactly what I wanted. What’s the point of a non-awakened like me clinging to the family?
“Are you two going to fight it out or something?”
“How could I settle a score with a non-awakened through force? Instead, there is a timely matter at hand.”
“A timely matter?”
Shin Chi-hyun, his anger cooled, said as he scrolled through his smartphone.
“It’s an S-class dungeon that appeared in Gangnam-gu. There are only a few days left until the expected Dungeon Break, and it hasn’t been cleared yet.”
“...Don’t tell me you’re talking about GN-493688?”
“That’s right.”
GN-493688. At the mention of that name, even the swaggering Shin Jin-seok’s expression turned serious. I didn’t know about the dungeons in Gangnam-gu, but if it was an S-class dungeon with a scheduled break, it couldn’t be a simple situation.
“GN-493688. It’s a dungeon that has been a headache for Gangnam-gu. The raid team has already been completely replaced once, yet it still hasn’t been cleared.”
“The raid team was replaced? Does that mean the second raid team was also annihilated?”
“Correct. We are in a situation where we need to find a third raid team.”
Usually, a raid team isn’t completely replaced when clearing a dungeon. The fact that a team is completely replaced means the previous team was annihilated. Annihilation means not a single person returned alive from the dungeon. But the fact that the second team couldn’t clear it meant they were annihilated too. In this era, the result of “annihilation” in a dungeon almost never happens. Dungeon research is so advanced, and safety measures are taken thoroughly before entry. They always bring hunters with escape skills, so at the very least, they manage an emergency escape. If it’s annihilation, it means they were all taken out before they even had a chance. Furthermore, if no hunter returns alive, it’s impossible to obtain information about the dungeon.
I didn’t understand, so I asked Shin Chi-hyun, “...Does that even make sense?”
“Of course, the progress isn’t at zero. The first raid team did manage to discover the boss room.”
“Then the problem is clearing the boss.”
“Yes. It’s possible that the boss room is a type where escape skills cannot be used. Since no hunter has returned alive, we can’t be certain of anything.”
“Our guild also lost several A-class or higher hunters in that dungeon. The rumors have already spread, so there won’t be any high-ranking hunters willing to join a third raid team.”
At Shin Chi-hyun’s explanation, Shin Jin-seok said with a stiff expression. A dungeon where no one knows what danger lies inside the boss room. It’s a place where many high-ranking hunters have already lost their lives. From a hunter’s perspective, it’s certain death, so they wouldn’t want to participate in the raid.
“If you clear this dungeon before the Dungeon Break, I will acknowledge your ability. Since there is no information on the boss room, the role of the dungeon management team that organizes the party is more important than anything else. If you do that, I will acknowledge that my ability in Association work is inferior to yours, just as you said. And the Patriarch will know the results as well.”
“Wait...! How are you going to clear this! There won’t even be any hunters willing to volunteer!”
My sister raised her voice, perhaps knowing about GN-493688 as well. Fearing Shin Chi-hyun might change his mind, I hurriedly stopped her.
“Hey, hey. Stay still. Since I started this, I’ll finish it.”
“But this is impossible...! Even I can’t see any possibility of clearing it.”
“I said stay still.”
Are you trying to steal my chance to quit? Just stay still.
“Fine. If I succeed in clearing it, I win. Instead, if I fail to clear it, I will cleanly admit it. That I am trash who is useless to the family. I will cleanly admit everything, and I will leave the family—no, this country—forever. So that I am never seen by the Shin Clan again.”
“Hey...! Are you crazy?”
I pushed aside my sister’s head as she tried to stop me with all her might. The fact that she was reacting like this meant it was a truly difficult task. But that was exactly what I wanted.
“I’m currently in my mandatory service period, but if it’s you, hyung, firing me should be easy, right?”
I even double-checked with Shin Chi-hyun, just in case I wouldn’t be fired properly.
“Of course. I’ve fired more than a few people who thought they could slack off because they were in their mandatory service period. If you fail, I will make sure you are fired, so don’t worry.”
“Good. Then let’s do that.”
Hehehe. I swallowed the laughter bubbling up inside me. To think I could be exiled this surely. This would be the happiest moment since I joined the company. Suddenly, Shin Chi-hyun’s face started to look handsome.
***
“It has been a long time, Patriarch.”
Shin Chi-soo bowed his head before [The Dignified Patriarch]. The Patriarch, sitting alone and aloof like an emperor, nodded slowly.
“Was the last time when you made this one?”
“That is correct.”
The Patriarch spoke while fiddling with the necklace around his neck. The necklace, with small mana stones floating around a large central mana stone, looked like a planet and its satellites. Its function was simply to amplify the wearer’s mana. But its performance was by no means simple. It wasn’t easy to handle the mana of an S+ class hunter, and it allowed for the free adjustment of the mana’s form. It was a masterpiece that Shin Chi-soo, an S-class craftsman, had spent a long time creating.
“Raise your head.”
Shin Chi-soo dared to lift his head. Before him sat the Patriarch, looking out over the banquet hall with eyes that seemed submerged in the deep sea.
“May I dare to ask one question?”
He looked young, not at all like a man approaching his hundredth year. But Shin Chi-soo continued, as if accustomed to it. It was common knowledge in the world that as hunters increased in rank and strength, their aging slowed down.
“You are talking about that child, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
The Patriarch spoke as if he had expected the question. Shin Chi-soo was curious. Why would the Patriarch take an interest in that non-awakened child? Certainly, what he had done recently was impressive, but that was only by non-awakened standards. No matter what that powerless child did, it didn’t seem like it would be of much help to the family.
“Who knows.”
“...”
That was the end of the Patriarch’s answer. It wasn’t an answer, of course, but he dared not ask further.
“I hear a large quantity of mana stones has been discovered.”
Instead, the Patriarch brought up the story of the mana mines. That was a topic of great interest to Shin Chi-soo as well. In fact, this was the reason Shin Chi-soo had attended the gathering this time. He wanted to ask Jiwoo about it, but in the end, he didn’t. Hunters would come to him for commissions once they obtained mana stones anyway, and Jiwoo seemed quite preoccupied today because of what happened with Shin Chi-hyun.
“Make me something useful again later.”
“I understand.”
For a mere craftsman like Shin Chi-soo, it was impossible to fathom the Patriarch’s intentions. However, the rebellion of Shin Jiwoo, the family’s only non-awakened member, did not seem like it would be easily extinguished. He could feel countless gazes directed toward Jiwoo.